Born into Darkness
by RachelDawes
Summary: Okay. This is my first attempt at a fanfic, but you guys don't care about that : I've become obsessed with the Bane and Talia pairing since watching The Dark Knight Rises and I am a shameless Bane and Talia shipper. I thought I would start pretty early on in the story. This will start from when Talia's mother first arrives in The Pit to... I don't know. Enjoy! :
1. Born into Darkness

He saw her being lowered into the pit. It seemed strange to him that she was not struggling, but was willingly being put here. As she was being lowered the men in the cells began howling like animals, their bodies pressed against the bars and arms outstretched trying to touch her. As the woman's feet and elaborate skirts touched the floor, she let go of the rope and immediately brought her hands to her stomach protectively. She was pregnant. The woman put on a face of pride and lifted her nose to the air, but it was very easy to see that this was merely a façade. She was terrified. You could see it in her eyes. The prison doctor walked towards her slowly with his hands put up so as not to frighten her.

"I am the doctor of this prison. I will escort you to your cell now. Please do not be afraid of me." He motioned at her with his hand to follow him. She looked at him cautiously but knew it would be much more dangerous to stay there where she could easily be reached. As he led her to her cell he kept his hands in the air and looked at her with reassuring eyes.

Bane watched her pass and felt pity for her. There had been few women placed in the pit before and what had been done to them was unimaginable. The men down here were always starving for something, be it food or women. The men in the pit were all malicious murderers or had done some act that deemed them traitors to their country. 'But what could a woman have done?' Bane thought to himself as he watched her enter her cell. 'She can be no older than 25 and looks to be of considerable wealth. And she is with child. She does not belong here.' Bane himself was a young 17 years of age. He was born here in this hell. He and his mother were to be punished for the crimes of his father against the King. His mother had died of disease 6 years after his birth and had left him to raise himself. There had been many days when he did not eat or drink, and he spent many nights awake, afraid to sleep, afraid of the darkness. But eventually the darkness became his ally. He learned how to sink into the shadows and silently go through the prison and explore it. He learned to defend himself and learned to killed for food. He had become one of the most feared inmates there. A child born in fear of the darkness was now its greatest friend.

He wondered if the same would become of the child of this woman. But then he doubted this woman would live as long as his own mother did. This was a woman of privilege; his mother had been a woman of strength and endurance.

The doctor locked the cell of the woman and said to her "Please do not attempt to open it and do not attempt to make contact with the prisoners. I will not save you should something happen." She nodded and proceeded to sit on her small cot and rub her stomach. "Wait doctor!" she yelled out as she walked towards the cell door. "How will I eat? What food will I receive?" He looked at her face and then stomach and thought hard. "Down here men will kill for food and even sometimes for sport. I cannot guarantee you a meal, but I'll see what I can do." He looked again at her stomach then walked away and began to let the other prisoners out. She hurried quickly to the cot at the corner of her cell again and just lay there with her hands rubbing her ripe belly. Immediately the prisoners became a crowd around her cell and began yelling obscenities and offers of food for her body. All she could do was cover her ears and close her eyes as tightly as possible. After some time had passed, the men left and went to look at the sky. Food was being lowered and the men were in a frenzy. She walked towards the bars of her cell and watched. The men were soon throwing each other to the floor and were becoming increasingly violent as the food came closer. She saw a muscular man come out of the shadows from the cell across from hers. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then she backed away from the bars and turned away from him. Bane watched her a while longer until she herself disappeared into the shadows of her cell. He ran towards the mass of prisoners and pushed himself in until he was in the middle of the men. As the food came within reach he jumped up and pulled it down. The men began roaring and tearing at each other. Bane gathered as much as he could and quickly retreated back to his cell. He sat on the cold stone floor and took hungry bites of his stale bread. He looked up at the men still fighting each other. Then his eyes went to the woman. She was at the bars again, watching the men. She had hunger and desperation in her eyes. She reached out one of her slender arms as if to grab some of the food for herself. Bane began to make his way to her cell. She let out a small scream and fell back onto the stone floor. Bane came up to the bars and looked at her with compassion. "Please don't be afraid. I have brought you food… Food for you and your child." He held out the bread he had been eating. She looked at him with apprehension and said "I will not give you my body."

"I am not asking for your body. All I am asking is that you take this food on behalf of your child." He said as kindly as he could, though kindness was not something he knew very well.

"Why? I don't know you. How do I know you will not try to ha-"

"If you do not take this, you will not eat for the rest of the day. I am doing you a kindness," he said with a hint of annoyance.

She slowly walked towards him. He was a handsome young boy. 'Too young to be here and too young to know violence,' she thought to herself. She took the bread from him and backed away quickly. Bane turned and went to his cell and lay on his cot.

This became a routine. When the men were let out they would crowd her cell and then as the food would come down, they would all go into a frenzy and Bane would bring her what he could. She was growing to be unafraid of him and would sometimes even talk to him. She asked him why he was put here and he told her. He asked her the same and she answered him.

One night, the entire prison was full of her screams. She was giving birth. The doctor ran to the cell and gave her medicines to ease the pain. It did not look as though her small frame would allow her to give birth to the child. She looked weak. Weeks of living in this hell had done that to her. Her skin had become a pale brown and her body, apart from her pregnant stomach, had become very thin.

She was gasping and panting for hours, and the men howled all the while. She thought she would go insane from the pain, but she finally had the child.

"A girl," she managed to breathe out and smiled weakly.

"No," the doctor whispered to her. "You must never let it be known that this child is female." She looked at him in weak confusion. "If the men here find out that the child is female they-"

"They wouldn't!" She gasped.

"Shhh! These men are animals, thrown down here for a reason. They do not know compassion. They have not known the pleasure of a woman in years. Please take whatever measures you can. Cut her hair and dress her in bigger clothes than necessary if you wish to protect her," He whispered. Panic went through her body. What if she couldn't protect the child? She had to. But was spending and eternity in this hell better than death?

She held the child up to her breast and began to feed her. She sat there for several minutes trying to calm herself. "And what should I name you little one?" she crooned weakly. The baby had the sweetest blue eyes. They resembled two sweet and pure blue dew drops. It was a miracle the child was born healthy. The lack of food and clean air should have caused her to be born a sickly child, but this child was a gift from God. "Talia? How do you like that?" she whispered to her.

Although she survived the pregnancy, it did damage to both her body and spirit. She found it painful to walk for long periods of time and would not talk as she used to with Bane.

When he would bring her food he would try to catch a glimpse of the child but she covered it with blankets when he would come near.

"How is the child?" Bane asked after months of wondering about it.

"He's fine." She answered quickly as she looked back at it.

"Oh, so it's a boy? That's great. Perhaps when he's older I can teach him a few tricks," Bane said with a slight smile, trying to be friendly.

But she furrowed her brow and looked back at the child.

"Can I see him?" He asked.

"No!" she almost screamed out. She quickly went back to the cot as the baby began crying again.

"Why not? I've gathered food for both you and the child since you first came here. Why can I not at least see him?"

"It's too dangerous," she said as she walked back to the bars to him.

"How? I won't hurt him. You don't trust me?" He was becoming annoyed.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I have to protect him." She said apologetically.

"If it weren't for me he wouldn't even be alive. Neither would you for that matter," he said with his anger increasing.

She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry. Please don't be angry," she said as she walked back to the cot.

After that he no longer attempted to speak to her. His anger almost cost her and the child their food, but he always felt guilt at the thought of them starving. That's how it was for years, until one day after the doctor had finished his routine check up on the child and mother, he forgot to lock the door to the cell.


	2. Princess on a Pedestal

The doctor unlocked the cell door and entered groggily. "How are you two doing?"

"We've been fine." She answered. "Talia," she whispered, "has overcome the cold and is doing good. Aren't you?" She looked back to see Talia at the bars. She quickly ran over to her and picked her thin frame up. "What have I told you about getting too close to the bars?" she scolded.

"That man waved at me. I was only waving back mother."

She looked up to see that it had been Bane. She looked at him with guilt then turned and placed Talia before the doctor.

"How are you feeling child?" he asked Talia.

"I feel better," she said to him while looking back at Bane.

"Talia, say thank you," the woman whispered to her.

"Thank you. I feel a lot better. Mama, can I please go to the bars again. I want to say hi," she told her mother while pointing at Bane.

"No! I've told you already. All the men here are very dangerous."

"Why is the doctor here then?" Talia asked.

"He helps us stay alive. We might be dead if not for him."

"But that man over there gives us food all the time. Is he still bad?"

The woman looked up at Bane, who was listening with his hands against the bars and eyes on Talia, sadly.

"Yes he is. You can trust no man but the doctor. You may not wave or speak to anyone. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Talia replied, defeated. She went back to sit on her cot and look at Bane in the cell across from her. She looked over at her mother to make sure she wasn't looking, then turned back to Bane and waved at him with an innocent smile. Bane couldn't help but wave and smile back at her. He chuckled to himself, 'He's very stubborn.' He continued to look at the child, trying to see what it looked like. All he could make out was that the child was very small, thin and had dark short hair.

As he continued to observe the child, the doctor closed the door to the cell and the men began howling. The food was being lowered into the prison. The doctor ran from their cell to wait for the food, as the guards let out the prisoners, and had forgot to lock their cell door.

The woman took out the knife from her pocket, "Child come here."

Talia ran over to her mother who was now kneeling.

"It's time to cut your hair again," she said.

"But mother I don't like to!" Talia whined.

"Yes I know, but it's something we must do to keep you safe and healthy. Please don't struggle. I'm very tired today," she said as she began to shave her head. As she finished, she placed the knife on the ground and kissed Talia's head then suddenly she heard her cell door being thrown open followed by the prisoners' wild laughter and screams of triumph. They grabbed the woman first and began tearing at her skirts, ignoring her screams of terror and pleas to stop. Talia picked up the knife on the ground and stabbed one of the men in the lower back. He fell to his knees then turned to grab Talia, but a huge figure knocked him back and grabbed the child and held it close. Bane pushed past the men and ran to his cell with the child.

Talia struggled against him, "My mother! Please!"

"Shhh little one. You must stay quiet now. Please. Just close your eyes as cover your ears as tight as you can," he said breathing hard.

She obeyed and laid her head against his chest. He stroked her head, trying to comfort her, but the men's voices and her mother's screams echoed through the prison like thunder. Talia began crying and shaking. Bane felt such pity for the child. He held her closer.

By the time it had ended, and the guards had put the prisoners back into their cells, Talia had cried herself to sleep. Bane laid her on the cot and observed her. Her eyes were swollen from crying and she was still shaking. The child had such small features: A small delicate nose and small but full pale lips. 'I can't take care of him. I don't know how,' he thought to himself after time had passed. After the men had gone back to their cells, the doctor came over to Bane.

"Let me take the child. I can care for it," he said cautiously. He was always cautious around him. Bane had always hated him ever since he had failed to save his mother from her illness, and refused to allow him to check him for illness and other things, dismissing him as useless.

"I don't think you can," was all he said. Suddenly he was reluctant to let anyone but him care for the child. She was the first to show him kindness without showing fear first, and this struck him.

"Please," said the doctor, "It will need medical attention sooner or later." He opened the cell door and walked towards the child with his hands up. "I only want to help."

"Put your hands down fool and get out or I will kill you," Bane said with his anger rising.

"Why are you fighting? Please stop," Talia said, rubbing her eyes.

Bane turned quickly and gathered the child in his arms. "Good morning little one," he said kindly, changing his tone completely.

"Where is my mother? I'm hungry," she yawned as she put her hands on his shoulders.

"She's gone. She won't be coming back," Bane said gently with a pained look on his face.

"Why?!" Talia struggled, beginning to panic. "Why?! Put me down!"

"She won't come back child. What are you planning to do? You won't find her anywhere. It's too dangerous to be in this prison alone," he said as he put her down, then kneeling and taking hold of her arms.

"Your mother is dead. Come with me child. You know me. I can care for you. Remember what your mother told you," the doctor said to her with his arms outstretched.

Bane stood and turned to him with fire in his eyes. "You know nothing of what a child needs. You will fail her as you failed me," he said, anger rising again.

Talia stood up and took hold of Bane's fisted hand and began pulling on it. Both men looked at her. Bane turned his body to her and kneeled looking into her bright blue eyes. "What is it?" he asked, all traces of anger gone from his voice. She put her arms around his neck and looked at him expectantly after he did nothing. Bane kept his arms at his sides, unsure of what to do. After a while he picked her up and stood facing the doctor.

"I don't want to go with him. He's scary," Talia whispered to Bane. He kissed her head.

"She doesn't want to go with you," he said with finality to the doctor.

The doctor feared for the child, but what could he do? Bane was easily twice his size and harbored such a strong hate towards him. He decided to retreat to his own cell, looking back as he went.

Bane, still holding Talia in his arms, sat on the cot with his back against the wall. He rested his chin on top of her head and began to rub her back gently.

"Why isn't my mother coming back? Did those men kill her?" Talia asked with a hint of sadness.

"Yes, but let's not think of her. It won't bring her back," he said to her gently.

"Ok," was all she replied.

They stayed that way until they both fell asleep.

When Talia awoke, she heard the men screaming. 'Food,' she thought to herself as she looked down at her growling stomach. After a minute or so, Bane came running into the cell with food in his hands. He startled her at first, but then she smiled.

"You're the one who always used to give my mother food aren't you?" she asked as she took an apple.

"Yes," Bane said, returning her smile. He sat on the cot and exhaled.

As she sat on the spot next to him she just stared.

"You have very beautiful blue eyes," Bane said to as he tore off a piece of his bread and handed it to her. "Did your mother give you a name?"

"Ummm… yes. I don't think I'm supposed to tell you," she said carefully.

"It's okay now. You're safe with me. You can trust me now," Bane said, taking the apple from her and taking a bite. She furrowed her brow and he laughed.

"She named me Talia. What's your name?" she asked, moving on to her bread.

Bane stayed still for a while and looked at her very carefully. "You are female? You are a girl?" he asked, shocked.

"Yes," she said annoyed. "You didn't tell me your name."

"Bane," he said without thought. "Your mother told me you were a boy."

"Well I'm not," she said as she crossed her arms. "My mother told me I was a princess." She looked extremely upset over this and it made him laugh. She then looked at him as though she were about to kill him.

"You are! You get upset very easily your highness," he said, still grinning. This child made him want to hope. He wanted to protect her and care for her as best he could. She made him want to be good, if only for her.

"So, what do you like to do?" he asked, unsure what to do now.

"What do you mean?" she questioned back.

"What do you usually do for fun?"

She thought hard. "My mother told me stories."

"That's it?" he said as he kneeled on the ground before her.

"Yes."

"Well, we'll have to come up with something better than that won't we?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"But I like stories," Talia said with a stubborn tone as she crossed her arms over her chest again.

"Can you keep a secret?" Bane asked.

"Mmhmm," she focused all her attention on him.

"Come here," he whispered as he motioned with his giant hand for her to come nearer. She scooted to the edge of the bed and leaned in. He leaned in to her ear and said "I am a horrible story teller," then began tickling her. As she shrieked with laughter and pleaded with him to stop, she had also completely captured him. He loved her. He had spent 7 or so years gathering food for her yet not knowing anything about her, but her feisty attitude and short temper had completely taken him. He had wanted a friend ever since his mother died and now he finally had one, and though she was a child, he treated her as an adult, always listening very intently as if her questions were of the utmost importance. And Talia adored Bane. She loved the attention he gave her and always felt so completely safe when his muscular arms were wrapped around her. They both thought they owned each other; Bane as her protector and Talia as his princess. When it was time to go to bed, Bane would lie on his back on the cot and Talia would lie on top of him. She liked to hear his heartbeat and liked the feeling of his chest falling and rising with the inhale and exhale of each breath. When she was afraid, Bane would comfort her by holding her and telling her bad stories on purpose.

"The princess isn't supposed to be ugly! That's why she's a **_princess_**, Bane," she corrected.

"I told you I wasn't very good at telling stories," he laughed. "So then the **_beautiful_** princess hit the prince with a stick and-"

"Bane!" she would yell as she hit his chest and he would laugh and let her finish the story, and she would completely forget her fears.

The men didn't think anything of the child at first and had been told it was a male, but then they heard the stories Bane would tell about princesses and noticed that he treated her as if she were a princess. They began to have suspicions about the child's true sex. One day one of the men tried to lure Talia in with an apple and Bane strangled the man to death. He had been afraid that Talia would hate or fear him after that act of violence, but she seemed unaffected by it. In her eyes, Bane could do no wrong, except of course for his storytelling.

The first time Talia fell ill, Bane panicked and nervously rocked her in his arms. It didn't help that Talia would cry and act more ill than she really was to garner more attention than he was already giving her. This only served to fray his nerves further. He yelled urgently for the doctor and the doctor ran to the cell fearing the worst, but it was relieved to find it was merely a cold. He was only supplied with medications for minor illnesses and was glad to see that that was all this was. When the doctor arrived Talia immediately tried to contain her coughing and stopped crying. She hated the taste of the medicine.

"Talia please drink it," Bane pleaded.

"Okay, but he has to leave," she said as she pointed at the doctor.

Bane took the medicine from him and shooed him out of the cell, and the doctor returned to his own cell without a word. He had watched their relationship and, after being witness to his brutality and savagery, was surprised by the protectiveness and unashamed adoration Bane had for her. Bane held Talia on a pedestal and made her feel like the queen of the world, even from their tiny cell. But it was not healthy to be caged in one small area as she had been for so long, so the next morning the doctor had the guards open the door to their cell and let them roam the prison before all the other inmates were let out. Talia immediately ran to the opening of the pit and stared up at the sky.

"Bane what is that?" she asked, amazed by what she was seeing.

"That pink part there? That's the sky. And the white balls are called clouds," he answered her, laying on the stone floor and looking up at the early morning sky sadly. She did the same.

"What do you think is really out there Bane?" she asked calmly.

"Trees, mountains, space..." his voice wandering off.

Talia turned on her side to look at him. "What do all those things look like? You always talk about them in stories, but I don't even know what they look like."

"I've never seen them either. I've been down here since I was born. Just like you Talia." he answered sadly.

"Then who told you about them?"

"My mother. She lived out there before coming here," he answered blankly. He hated his father for doing this to him and for having forced his mother to suffer and die in his place. Bane hated all men. There were no exceptions. He even hated himself for being unable to save his mother and being unable to save Talia from this hell. Men were savage and consisted only of evil. How he would love to tear apart every single man in the world to ensure that it would be safe for Talia.

"Do you think there are real princesses out there?"

He turned his head to her, ripped from his violent reverie. "Probably." Her blue eyes were so easy to get lost in. In the sun they shone beautifully and changed from icy blue to a beautiful sea foam green.

"What do you think they look like?"

"Probably very beautiful," he answered as turned onto his side to face her. He noticed a change in her face. She suddenly seemed sad and was thinking very hard. He knew why.

"But none could be even a mile near your beauty," he smiled as he hugged her to his chest. She smiled against his and hugged him tightly.

"And no knight could be more handsome or nice than you," Talia responded. He laughed as she said this and hugged her tighter.

"I thought I was a prince," he chuckled.

"No. The prince is lazy. He never even does anything. The knight protects the princess and fights for her, just like you do for me."

"I guess I am your knight then," he said as he played with her hair. "I think it's time for another hair cut."

"I don't want to."

"Talia you have to."

"Only if you promise to take me outside some day."

"Let's go back," he said as he got up. She stretched out her arms to him and he picked her up and carried her back to their cell.

He didn't want her to gain false hope. How many men had tried to escape before, tying a rope to their bodies and climbing the wall, but then falling back into hell after attempting, but failing, the final jump? None had ever made it. Bane himself had never attempted to make the climb. After watching several men attempt it so many times, he saw their spirit break. They gave up and wasted away in their cells and he couldn't let that happen to him, especially now that he had Talia to protect. But now she wanted to get out. He didn't know if he could let her. He wanted her to be with him forever.

"Talia, were you pretending to be more ill than you really were last night?" he asked as he sat her in his lap and began to shave her head.

"Yes Bane. I'm sorry," she said as she coughed weakly.

"Why? You nearly scared me to death Talia," he said seriously.

She looked up at him with sad eyes, "I didn't want you to give me to the doctor. Do you hate me now? I'm very sorry. I won't do it again. I swear," she said desperately.

"Why would I hate you? I just don't want you to do that anymore. I don't hate you Talia. Never say that again, okay? I would never give you to that doctor. He doesn't know you like I do; he wouldn't be able to take care of you. You are the only thing in the world that matters to me. You are my princess," he murmured as he finished shaving her head. She laid her head against his chest, nearly crying and he gathered her tiny frame in his arms and laid his back against the wall.

They lived like this for a few years. When Talia would become ill she would exaggerate, unchanging even as she grew older, and Bane would panic, but he would always forgive her. Then they would be let out of their cells before all the others and would lay under the opening of the pit and imagine what was out there.

The fact that Talia was a girl was becoming increasingly difficult to disguise. Shaving her head and dressing her in baggy clothes was no longer able to disguise her at the age of 12. Her face gave her away. Though thin and pale, her face was unmistakably that of a girl. Her features were soft and beautiful. Her crystal blue eyes always shone beautifully, her nose small and her lips also small but full. The prisoners began to notice and began to call out for her. She was still too young to understand the things the men were saying, but Bane wasn't. They made offers to Talia as they had to her mother, and it enraged him. He would often focus on the man that would yell the most obscene things and later, when it was time for food, kill him. This stopped the others for a while, but soon it began again, and was much worse. Bane now knew that soon, Talia would have to escape.


	3. Birth into Light

Thank you again to every one who has been reading and my new reviewer. You guys make this a lot less scary than it is. So this chapter is going to be pretty short because I'm going to be writing two separate parts in both Bane and Talia's perspective during Talia's time away from the pit. Thanks again guys!

"Are you ready to begin?" Bane asked as he picked her up off the cot. Training 'his little princess' was much easier than he expected; actually Talia learned the techniques he taught her extremely fast. He taught her the very basics of defense and combat and she excelled. After they practiced combat, Bane would take her to mouth of the pit and make her climb the wall until her legs were sore. It made him very proud watching her rise, but it terrified him when he saw her climb back down. He almost wished she would keep climbing and escape during one of the practices. But that final leap. How could he expect her to make it when grown men could not?

As she jumped off of the chunk of concrete that protruded from the wall and landed safely in his arms, she looked up at the sky and said, "I've been practicing for so long, are we leaving soon? I want to see the trees and the mountains."

He wanted to cry, but he kept it in. "Very soon. You may have to leave before me though. Okay?"

"Why? You have to come with me."

"I might have to keep the men away from you so that you can climb. You have to promise me that you'll keep climbing if anything happens," he spoke seriously for the first time in so long and it frightened her. She would rather die than be without him, but he made her promise to him that she would keep going, and he once told her that promises were never allowed to be broken when made to people you loved.

After they were finished imagining the outside world again, Bane took Talia to the doctor's cell.

"She's going to escape soon and I need you to get her in the best health possible," Bane demanded.

"You expect the child to make the jump, when so ma-"

"She'll make the jump," Bane bellowed.

The doctor sighed and agreed to check Talia. He advised Bane to have her eat as much food as possible before her escape and with that they went back to their cell and the rest of the day was routine.

The next morning was especially quiet as they went for their practice. None of the men yelled anything to her, made her offers, or even spoke. They only stared. As Bane and Talia finished practice and began walking back to their cell hand in hand, they heard several cell doors bust open and an overwhelming wave of screams and laughter.

"Go!" Bane yelled. Talia ran to the wall and began climbing as Bane was fighting off the other men. He managed to push them off for a second and lift Talia up onto the chunk of concrete, but then the swarm of men began pulling him down. Talia looked back at Bane as they pulled off his scarf. "Goodbye," was all he said before he disappeared under the arms and feet of the men.

Talia was so afraid that she wanted to stay on that upper piece of concrete before the leap, but she had promised him she would make it. So she did. Her heart nearly burst out of her chest as her feet left the floor and she was in mid-air for what seemed like an eternity, but then she felt her palms touch the concrete and pressed her fingers down as tightly as she could. The men stopped and watched in awe as they saw a child do what they had failed to do. The last thing Bane saw before he went unconscious was Talia rising from the pit.


	4. Conquering Fear

As she stood on the stone lips of the pit, she looked out in awe. The sky was bigger than she imagined. It was vast and never ending. The mountains were monstrous and red. She had made it. She didn't look back down into the pit. She pulled her scarf over her head and began walking. Where to? She didn't know. Her mother had once told her about a man named Henri Ducard. She had told her that he was her father and that he loved them both very much, but Talia didn't believe that at all. Sometimes Talia would dream about him and would pray that he would come save her and her mother, but she became tired of dreaming and praying and inside her grew a small hatred for him. He didn't save them. Instead, someone wholly unconnected to her saved her, and she didn't even have to pray. Bane saved and protected her because he loved her. Bane loved her. Not this Ducard. But she had no other choice. How would she even begin to look for him?

She walked for several hours and all she could see was unending desert. She began to cry and wished to be back in the prison with Bane, but she had promised him that she would go. Her stomach was growling and she had no food. She didn't even know how to find food. As the day passed and the night came, she finally reached one of the giant red mountains. Her already extremely thin body was too fatigued to continue, so she lay under one of the few trees at the foot of the mountain. Talia hardly slept and often found herself looking around certain someone was there nearby waiting to hurt her. The next day she began her long climb over the mountain. Again she went another day without food, and by the time night fell, she had cried all her tears. She was hungry, afraid, and lonely. She slept even less that night, her hunger pains waking her every few minutes, but the next morning she reached the peak of the mountain and gave her a small push in her spirit. The journey down was much quicker but also more dangerous. Her body was weak and thin and her legs could barely carry her. She fell several times, falling in and out of consciousness, receiving gashes on her face and all over her body, but by nightfall she had crossed over and reached a small village at the foot of the mountain. She, a 12 year old child with no knowledge of the outside world, had survived 3 days without food, water, and shelter in the biting cold. It almost seemed impossible, and for any other child, it would have been.

Talia had been taught by both Bane and her mother that all men were bad and on her own had come to assume that she and her mother were the only women to exist, so when she crept into the village using the shadows, she almost didn't believe what she saw. There were women and men holding hands and smiling at each other, children running around some the small adobe houses. Did both Bane and her mother lie to her? These people seemed to be happy. They weren't fighting each other, they didn't even look hostile. She carefully crept out of the shadows and dragged her feet to a small fire near one of the houses. She nearly threw herself on to the floor as soon as she reached the fire. The warmth felt so good on her taut skin. As a woman came to sit by the fire, Talia got up to run but her legs folded beneath her and she collapsed. She couldn't believe her eyes. 'A living woman,' Talia thought as she stared at the woman with eyes wide with amazement. The woman ran over to Talia and gathered her into her arms. She began speaking some language Talia did not understand. The woman noticed and instead began pointing her fingers at her mouth. Talia just looked at her deliriously and opened her mouth. The woman took her into her little adobe house and laid her on the bed. Talia's sunken eyes searched the room for something she could find comfort in, but nothing did. The woman brought some warm bread and soup to Talia, who devoured it. It felt so incredibly good to eat and drink again. Talia finally had a night of rest. Last night Talia had been too tired to think of why the woman had been so kind without reason. When she woke up, she saw the woman sleeping on a chair across from her instead of the bed she had tucked Talia into. Talia still couldn't believe that there was a woman before her. 'Maybe only women are kind?' she thought to herself. Talia sat on the bed and watched the woman until she woke up. She again made motions to her mouth and this time Talia smiled and nodded in response. The woman smiled back at her and walked over to her kitchen to fill a small wooden bowl with soup. Seeing that woman smile made Talia feel alive again and gave her energy. As the old woman handed Talia the bowl and sat across from her, Talia continued to smile.

After she was finished, the woman gently pushed Talia outside and pointed to the children running around and screaming. Talia was apprehensive at first but decided she had better obey everything the kind woman told her. She walked slowly on unsure feet. She had never seen other children until last night and was unsure what children did. They ran over to her and spoke in their language that Talia did not understand. Talia felt very uncomfortable and uneasy. One of them began to pull Talia's hand and she, as Bane had taught her for anytime she felt in danger, twisted the hand and held it behind the other child's back. The child began crying and screaming at Talia.

"Do not touch me. I don't want to play," she said as she released the child and ran back to the woman's adobe home.

The woman opened the door and was surprised to find Talia there again. She just looked at her and shook her head. Talia looked at her confused. The woman turned Talia by her shoulders and gently pushed her. Talia turned around again and tried to enter the home. The woman was thinking very hard as she looked out in the distance.

"No. You go. Not stay. Go," she said as she pointed to the outside.

Talia furrowed her brows and began to cry silently. The woman motioned for Talia to wait and ran back into her kitchen to grab some bread to give to Talia.

"Go now," the woman said as she turned and began to close the door.

"Wait!" Talia screamed as she pushed her hand against the door. The woman looked at her in surprise.

"Ummm… Do you know who Ducard is? Henri Ducard? He's my father. I am looking for him," Talia asked.

But the woman merely repeated her previous words. "You go," she said as she closed the door.

Talia began asking the entire town's people, assuming they were all kind like the woman, but no one knew who Henri Ducard was.

Talia stayed in that town for 2 weeks before following a caravan to another town. She entered this town with less caution. She was a little less afraid of people after seeing the way they were in that town. The town was smaller than the first, but the people still seemed kind and happy. Again, she went around asking the townspeople if they knew who Ducard was, but they all shook their heads in reply. She left that town the next week, following the same caravan into another town.

When Talia reached the next town she looked around in awe. It was huge. She had never seen so many people. There was music and colors everywhere and the streets were filled with small shops. As she passed one shop, a man tapped her shoulder and gave her an apple. She smiled at the man and said "Thank you." She liked this town very much. She was having fun just looking at everything and seeing the animals in cages. She doubted there was any other place like this town. If only Bane could be here to see it with her, he would be as amazed as she was. She pretended Bane was here with her, holding her hand and answering every one of her questions. She had a million of them and Bane always had all the answers, even if he had to make them up as he often did. Talia sat and leaned against a wall hidden from view. She was extremely tired. Tomorrow she would search more for Henri Ducard.

When Talia awoke from her sleep, the town had almost completely changed. There was still music and there were still many colorful banners, but most of the people had cleared the streets and there was no one in the shops. As she walked around to find out where all the people had gone, she heard the screams of both men and women. She began to cry and hid herself behind one of the shops. 'Bane and mother were right. All these people are bad,' she thought to herself as the screaming brought her final images of her mother to her head. After she had calmed down and driven those thoughts from her head, she decided to peek out. There were men and women holding each other and dancing together. But this wasn't the same as the holding and dancing Talia had seen in the previous towns. The men were grabbing at the women's breasts and were exposing them as the women laughed and screamed. The dancing was vulgar and full of sexual gestures. Talia didn't understand how these women could laugh when the men grabbed them the way they did. Her mother didn't laugh.

As she continued watching the people with disgust, several men in black began to pass her and creep into the town. She couldn't see any of their faces and almost thought she was imagining them. They moved so beautifully, so stealthily that you couldn't hear their footsteps on the ground. As she watched the last of them disappear, she went to sit behind the shop. She thought of all the amazing things she had seen that day and then thought of how much Bane would have loved all of it.

Out of nowhere she heard the terrified screams of men, women, and children. Her heart stopped as she got up and looked around in alarm. She peeked out into the streets and saw many of the homes and buildings burning. She began to cry again but couldn't force herself to look away. She saw one family try to escape their home, only to be stabbed by the stealthy men in black she had seen only moments ago. They began going through every home and every building and were working their way to the shop where Talia was hidden. They were going to catch her and kill her. She began to cry even harder as she ran to the back of the shop again. She stood with her back against the wall. She saw the shadow of one of the men making his way to the back of the shop. She quickly ran the other way out into the street where one of the men caught her. He held her arm firmly as he raised up his sword.

"Wait! Please don't. I didn't do anything. I don't even live here. I've just been looking for my father Henri Ducard. Please," Talia sobbed. The man lowered his sword and pulled the child close to his face. He looked at her very hard and then began to pull her to the center of the town.

"Ducard, this child knows your name. She says you are her father," the man said as he bowed. The man he had been speaking to turned around quickly and kneeled to look at the child. As he searched her face, a sad hope came over his own. She had the same icy blue eyes as his.

"Who are you?" The man asked her. His voice was beautiful.

"My name is Talia. Are you Henri Ducard? Are you my father?" She questioned back.

"You can go now," he said to the man while staring into Talia's eyes. "How do you know the name Ducard?" he said kindly.

"My mother told me. She said that was the name of my father," Talia calmly replied.

"Who was your mother?" he was becoming more excited.

"Well… she was my mother. She was put inside the pit and had me in her cell. She told me that we were princesses and then she told me that my father loved me. She's dead now," Talia finished sadly.

All the hope had gone from that man's face. He looked around for a minute, trying to contain his tears. "Talia," he breathed out, "Talia you're coming with me. My name is Henri Ducard and I am your father."

As she said those words, Talia felt nothing. She thought they would excite her or invoke love for him, but they didn't. He took Talia in his arms and began to stroll through the burning town.

Talia hesitated a moment before speaking, "Father…" should she call him father? "Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting and killing everyone?"

"This town has been allowed to poison the world for far too long. It is filled with deleterious murderers, adulterers, and is nearly filled with criminals. They have become a danger to the environment and must be allowed to die," he said to her seriously.

"What about the children? Did they do those things too?"

"These poor children have been tainted and infected by the filth and criminals of this town. We cannot allow them the chance to poison the rest of the world. They must perish along with all the other sinful people."

Talia still didn't understand, but she did not question him, she only watched as the town burned.

After it was done, all the men in the black armor marched out into the wilderness.

"Where are we going?" Talia asked Henri.

"We're going home. Would you like something to eat Talia?"

"Yes please. Where is home?"

"Our home is in the mountains. It will take a few days to get there-"

"Are we going to walk until we get there?!" Talia interrupted. She had been walking for weeks in search of this man and was reluctant to walk for so long again.

"Talia you must learn to hold your tongue. We will camp as we make our way there."

"Thank goodness. I don't think I would be able to walk even one more day," Talia said to him as he chuckled. It felt odd for both of them to be together after spending years not knowing if the other existed.

After a few hours, they decided to set up camp. Some of the men set up a fire, while the other men set up the tents. Talia helped with the fire. She went out in search of wood and always felt good when she threw some into the fire. She sat there and listened to the men speak of the good they had done that night and listened to them tell jokes and stories. She didn't understand any of it and hardly thought it was funny. She slept in a tent with her father, but both slept on separate ends of the tent.

This is how it was for the week until they arrived "home." The men never acknowledged her and Ducard didn't know how to communicate with her, but Talia wasn't sure she even wanted to talk to any of them. She only wanted Bane. She missed him terribly.

As they arrived Ducard stopped Talia at the doors. "This will be your home for now. We move from time to time. Let's go inside."

"Do I call you father?"

"You may call me whatever you'd like. Come, I'll show you to your new room." He said with a smile. He had her put in the room next to him.

The first few weeks Ra's had Talia eating while watching the men practice to gain strength and to prepare for the practice she would soon start. Talia enjoyed the praise she received from her father during her practices. It was difficult at first for her, as it was for all of them. But she was one of the most stubborn students that the League had ever had. She refused to speak of her fear. "I won't talk about it," was what she would reply to her father before running to her room and standing against her door.

"Talia, you must learn to conquer your fear. If you do not conquer fear it will conquer you," he would say through the door.

"I am not afraid. I have courage. I don't need to talk about my fears."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, Talia; it is the mastery of it."

"I'm not ready yet," was all she would reply before going back out to resume practices.

That was how she always escaped speaking of her fear. She became very strong and quick, but her biggest strength was her stealth. She was able to navigate through the towns that the League was cleansing, and easily slip into homes and begin the first flame. She was in charge of beginning the cleansing. She had learnt the ways of the men but still lacked a desire to speak to them. She found all of them boring and predictable. She didn't trust any of them.

5 years had passed and Talia was finally ready to discuss her fears.

"Father, I fear being alone and being hurt. I fear abandonment."

"Why? What gave you those fears?"

"I… When I saw mother being killed and I was powerless. I tried to help her… I stabbed a man in the back, but there were too many of them. I was so afraid to be alone… I even welcomed death from the man who was about to attack me…" she drifted off and stared blankly.

Ducard almost didn't want to discuss it any further. It was almost too painful to listen to and imagine the last moments of his great love.

"What happened next? How did you escape?"

"Bane saved me," her face reddened.

"Who is Bane?"

"My savior. He saved me from the men and had secured food for mother and me until she was killed. He took me in and protected me from everyone. He helped me escape from the pit… I want to go back," she said seriously as she stared into his eyes.

"Back? You want to go back there? Why?"

"I need to face it. I have power now and I want to avenge Bane and mother."

He wanted vengeance as well. They could clear out the cesspool of filth that his beloved had been condemned to. He wanted to see the place where her father had sent her in his place.

The next week they set off to the pit. It took them two weeks to arrive and at first both Talia and her father just stared.

"I want to go down first," Talia said as she stood on the stone lips of the pit for the second time, but this time she was looking back down. As she was being lowered with several other men following close behind, she remembered her promise to Bane that she would keep climbing up no matter what. Now she was climbing back down. What Bane did not know was that she had also promised him that she would come back.


	5. Alone

I'm so sorry I've taken so long to post a new chapter! My computer had a ton of viruses and I had to have it cleaned out. Thanks to everyone who has followed, reviewed, favorited, and enjoyed my fic!(:

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The last thing he saw was Talia rising from the pit and then everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, all he could feel was pain in his face that was so excruciating it was nauseating. He lay right under the opening of the pit face up. 'She made it,' was all he was able to think before it began to rain. The feeling of rain against his face was unlike anything he'd felt before. The rain hit hard against his torn flesh and he began to see black. His arms curled to his body as he cried. He tried to speak but could only manage to gurgle. He could taste the blood and feel several teeth on his tongue. Breathing from his mouth was so intensely painful, so he took in a breath from his nose, but it was just as painful and he could hardly get his breath out of his nose. He brought a hand up to feel it, but all he could feel was a flap of flesh hanging over his mouth. Everything went black again.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the doctor standing over him. He wanted to hit him or cause any kind of bodily harm he could to him. Bane was angry. His pain had decreased by half but was still excruciating. Bane managed to pull himself up to lay against a wall. The breathing was still difficult and he could now see some of the damage that had been done to him. He could see the flesh from his nose hanging and managed to push the fallen teeth from his mouth. He didn't know whether to feel angry or terrified.

"I can help you," the doctor said as he slowly walked up to Bane.

Bane could only moan softly. His face was still very swollen and he couldn't even feel his lips.

The doctor came closer. "I have morphine that will help with the pain," he said as he held out a small bag of the morphine.

"You can barely move can't you? This will help. While you are under the effects of the morphine I can fix your face. Is that alright?" he said as he cautiously opened the bag and began to administer it to Bane. As Bane's eyes began to go in and out of focus, the doctor began to work on him.

After a few minutes into the surgery, Bane's eyes opened wide and his body jolted. He had a pain worse than anything he had ever felt, even worse than the pain from before. He pushed away the doctor and let out a wild yell. He was insane with the pain. He grabbed at his face but the contact made the pain worse. He didn't know what to do. He was afraid, angry, anxious, and ran towards the doctor as tears fell.

"What did yo-" he couldn't finish his sentence. The pain was increasingly worse. He began grunting as he pursued him, but eventually went back to sit against the stone wall.

'What am I going to do?! Am I going to die?!' Those two thoughts were the only things going through his head. He fell to the floor and reached for his head scarf. He could feel the blood and tears trickling down his neck. He quickly tied the scarf around his head and applied pressure to the areas around his wounds. The past seconds or minutes seemed like an eternity. Was this how it was always going to feel? He couldn't fathom living like this for the rest of his life.

The doctor watched him as he shook with pain. "Please let me finish. You can't stay like this."

Bane wouldn't dare speak again, fearing the pain. He only looked sharply at the doctor with disgust and even more hate than before. The doctor walked back to his cell and away from Bane.

As Bane turned his head in different positions, trying to find the least painful, a noise came from the opening of the pit. He slowly got up and went to see what it was. The food was being lowered. He had forgotten. How was he going to eat? Would he be able to? The other prisoners noticed the food being lowered but were hesitant to approach Bane. He seemed more dangerous now than ever. The grunting and hate in his eyes had convinced them that he was not to be messed with. Bane grabbed his food and went back to sit against the stone wall. He decided to attempt to eat the nearly black banana. He slowly placed mushy chunks of it into his mouth and swallowed without chewing. God, this was excruciating. How could he live the rest of his life like this? 'At least Talia is free,' he thought to himself. As he thought of her freedom from the pit, he also thought of her freedom outside of it. Would she even find freedom? What was out there? Tears began to fall again. His stomach began to knot and he threw up.

He eventually learned how to do things even with the pain. It hadn't gone away but he had become a little used to it. Who knows how long he had gone with this pain, but he was becoming tired of it, no longer being able to control it. He was beginning to think of death and ways to achieve it. Thinking of Talia only made it worse. He had no way of knowing if she had survived or if she had been hurt or killed. The thoughts alone were enough reason for him to want death, but the thoughts coupled with the pain made him welcome it. It really began to seem like a haven for him. No thoughts or pain could reach him in death. He was beginning to feel almost pure hate every day. The only moments void of hate were the moments when he thought of Talia. The thoughts of her brought either fear or happiness. 'She made it out of the pit and that means she could make it anywhere,' he said to himself over and over every day to reassure himself, but after a while it stopped working. After a while hate and the anxiety was all that was left in him.

A few years had to have passed between the attack and now. His body was giving up on him and so was his mind. He decided that it was too much for him and that the next day he would have one of the prisoners kill him. They hated him enough. When the food came he didn't bother to get any. He just walked over to the wall and sat against it. Maybe he would just wait for death here, looking up at the sky wondering what the world outside of the pit held. He tried to think peaceful thoughts but everything and anything he thought of brought hate. He hated everyone in the pit for what they had done to him, he hated his father for allowing him and his mother to be trapped here, he hated his mother for allowing him to be born into this hell and not killing him, he hated the people outside of the pit for being allowed to see what he dreamed of seeing, he hated Talia's mother for her unkindness towards him, and he hated Talia- no, he hated not knowing where she was and if she was safe. As he thought of all these things, a hate entered him like none before and at that moment he really gave up. He decided he would sit there and rot away. As he stared into the distance with all the hate of the world in his eyes, he heard several footsteps falling behind him.

'More prisoners,' he thought to himself, not caring to look behind him. As he heard the people coming down, he thought of Talia again. He was glad that at least he knew she had made it out of the pit. What Bane did not know was that she had also promised him that she would come back.


	6. Reunion

Thank you again to every one who has been keeping up with my attempt at a fic(:

NinjaNicky: Thank you so much for your very kind words! I'm very glad you're excited because it makes me excited!(: If everyone loses interest in this, I'll keep writing it just for you!

MissCivilization: Thank you very much! Oh, I hate Talia too! I mostly hate her for betraying Bruce though. I'm sure Bane got lots of love before their planned attack on Gotham and between the scenes(;

Thank you both very much!(:

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As her feet touched the ground and she released the rope, she looked around miserably. She was wishing with her entire being that Bane would be alive and well. But she knew it was a foolish hope and as her father had told her, "Hope is a dangerous thing. It is better not to hope because the destruction of your hope can break you," but she dared to hope anyway. Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at the blood-stained stone. She stood there staring into the cold, gritty, black and gray floor. She paid no attention as the men of The League passed her and she completely blocked out the sound of the prisoners screaming out. Nothing else existed in her world but this cold floor stained with what must have been his blood. Her face slowly began to screw up with hate and she felt the urge to cry out.

Ra's was the last to come down into the pit. He stood next to Talia and stared at the same spot Talia was staring at.

"We're here. What would you like to do?" He asked solemnly.

"Kill them. Kill them all," she said with as much hate as she could muster.

She walked past everyone and climbed down the many stairs into and walked into her old home. The cot she and Bane had slept on was still there. She kneeled and ran her hands against the rough material.

As the prisoners noticed Talia, they came out of their cells towards Talia yelling obscenities as they had when she was younger. The men of The League quickly ran to her and blocked the entrance to the cell. The prisoners backed away as the men bared their swords.

Ra's walked over to them and watched them for a moment. The prisoners disgusted him. "Kill them all," he said calmly to the men. Talia slowly rose and turned when she heard the slaughtering begin.

She exited the cell and slowly began to walk back to the opening of the pit. As she came up the last flight of stairs, she saw a man sitting there.

"Why not kill one myself?" she asked herself stoically.

She slid out her sword and began to imagine that this was the man who had killed her friend. Every step nearer brought more and more butterflies to her stomach. She would avenge Bane through the death of this miscreant. As she came within mere feet of this man her body stopped and was unable to move. Those eyes- **_his_**eyes… It couldn't be him. The sunken eyes that looked back at her looked so much like his, except these eyes bore into her with a chilling hate whereas his eyes had only ever adored her. She forced her body to move forward and she kneeled at the feet of this man, no longer carrying the hate she had felt only moments before. A bloody scarf was wrapped around his head revealing only his eyes. She slowly lifted her hand towards the scarf, looking at him with a hope filled with despair. Her hand froze in midair as tears fell and rolled down her cheeks. She knew it was him. How could it be anyone else? She dropped her hand and began sobbing quietly. She brought her hands to her face as her sobs were becoming more audible. Suddenly she felt a cold and thin hand on her arm. She grabbed the hand with both of hers and brought it to her lips. As she kissed the palm of his hand, he began to silently cry as well.

'She's real,' he repeated to himself over and over again as he watched her through tearful eyes.

"Bane," she breathed out.

"Ahhhh…"

She looked up at him terrified. "What is it?! Bane are you ok?!"

"Ahhhh… Ahh…Ahhliaahh…" he managed to push out. He hadn't said her name since she left.

"Yes," Talia sobbed out as more tears came down. She crawled to sit next to Bane and laid her head against his shoulder. She took his hand in her hers and closed her eyes. "Yes… it's me."

"Talia," her father said expectantly as he burst into their reunion. Bane looked at him with his previous anger for breaking through his reverie and for speaking to her in that way.

"Who is this? Is this the man you spoke of?" Ra's said un-intimidated.

Talia let go of his hand, immediately missing it, and stood facing her father.

"Yes. Ra's, this is Bane. He's the one who saved me from… all of this."

Ra's looked at him and then back at Talia.

"There's someone else I want to see. Please watch him and make sure no one hurts him." She said with renewed vigor.

She looked back at Bane and kneeled before him as she took his hand again.

"I'll be right back Bane. I have to see the doctor," she said to him with a sad smile. As she was pulling back her hand Bane moaned and gently squeezed her hand.

She looked back at him, his sad eyes focused solely on her and void of the hate they held moments ago.

"I promise you I'll come back. I won't leave this place without you. I won't leave anywhere without you," she whispered to him. They held each other's gaze for a moment before she walked to the doctor's cell.

How had he lived so long without her? How long had it been? She looked so different. So much had changed about her. She was much taller and her body had formed womanly curves. She had reddish brown hair that hung just past her shoulders and her lips were full now. But she still had her small nose and her icy blue eyes. Those eyes… He adored them and they thankfully hadn't changed at all. How long had it been?

As Talia arrived in the doctor's cell, she found him cowering beneath the sword of one of The League's men.

"Wait. I have business with him. Go out and finish the others," she said as she stepped between them.

As the man walked off, the doctor rose and took hold of Talia's hand.  
"Thank you child. Thank you for sparing me my-"

Talia pulled her hand away in disgust.

"You disgust me. You couldn't help him. You've failed me as you failed him," she said without emotion. She turned to the ending chaos.

"You there! Come here I need you," she yelled at one of the men. As the man came close she looked towards Bane but her view was blocked by all the men.

"Take all of his morphine but do not kill him. I want him to stay alive," she said as she walked out towards Bane.

"What do you want to do?" Ra's said as Talia approached.

"Do? About what?"

"Him," he said as he looked down at Bane.

"We're bringing him with us," she replied suspiciously.

"Talia we cannot bring this man into The League."

"Why not? Why will you not allow him into The League?" she questioned, her temper rising.

"He's a criminal! We cannot bring a criminal into our home. It would be going against everything I've taught, every rule I-"

"He is not a criminal. He was born here like I was. He was being punished for the sins of his father. He had done nothing wrong."

"He is the child of a criminal and therefore he is tainted. We cannot accept him."

"Then why did you accept me? I am no different than him in that regard. You don't want him because he reminds you of my mother. That's the reason isn't it? You are angry with him for choosing me over my mother."

"Talia calm yourself."

"If he stays, I stay as well. I won't be separated from him again," she said with mock calmness as she sat next to Bane.

"You cannot stay here. You'll die."

"So will he. I do not play at words Ra's. I mean what I say. I won't abandon him again," she said as she stared into Bane's green eyes.

"The moment he disobeys our order he will be forced to leave," Ra's said as he turned to the men.

"You're going to see the outside world Bane. It's incredible… But it's very hot out there. You'll need to take this off," she said as she pointed to the scarf. She noticed his eyes fill with panic at the mention of his scarf.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head.

"What's the matter Bane? Speak to me."

He only shook his head again.

"Bane?" She began to worry. Then she remembered when he said her name. He hardly could say it.

"What did they do to you?" She said as she reached for the scarf again, but he weakly pushed her hand away.

"Please Bane… I have to see what's wrong so I can help you. Please let me take care of you," she pleaded. She tried again and this time he let her. He sucked in small harsh breaths as she slowly unwrapped it, staring into each other's eyes.

Talia just stared at the terrible mess that now was his face. She couldn't move as she stared at his mouth. She remembered his lips. She remembered the way he would kiss her forehead when she had nightmares. And now his mouth was… this. She couldn't even see his lips anymore… and his nose was barely there. How could this have happened to him? He was a good man. The best she had ever known.

She didn't notice she was crying until she saw tears stream down Bane's mangled lower face. She quickly rose and wiped her face as she turned her body.

"Be careful with him. He's in pain," she said as she looked at all the men.

Where's the morphine you took from the doctor? Give it to him. I want him to sleep."

She turned back to Bane and softly placed her hand on his head.

"You'll be out of here very soon my friend. I'll take care of you. I'll make sure they fix you."

"Talia it is selfish of you to force this man to continue living. He's at death's door. Put him out of his misery. He cannot want to continue on like this," Ra's said as he watched the men administer the morphine.

"I know him better than anyone in the world and I know his wants better than anyone else in the world," Talia said as she walked to the rope and began to rise from the pit once more.


	7. Now The Wait

Thank you very much again NinjaNicky! You are too kind and are very awesome yourself! Thanks a lot for reading and making me excited to post!(:

This one is a little short but the next one won't take too long! Sorry for the wait!

* * *

She climbed to the top before everyone else and sat on the lips of the pit as she waited for him to be brought up. She felt a sense of power as she saw his sleeping body brought out of the pit. It was gratifying that she was finally able to repay him in some way for all that he had done for her.

Talia never separated from Bane's sleeping body on their journey home. She kept her fingers curled around his bony index finger. While the men would set up camp and gather around the campfire, Talia would remain with Bane in her tent and wouldn't take her eyes off him. His body and feet were very long just as she remembered. She thought back to their time together and remembered how he towered over her and almost every other man in the prison. He was now very weak and extremely thin. His legs and torso seemed to be almost thinner than hers. When she laid her head against his chest to hear and feel the rhythmic lowering and rising, she could feel his protruding ribs against her cheek. His face was covered in bandages and remained hidden from view. She cried as she thought how unfair it was that she would never get to see his face again and she would never feel his lips against her forehead again, and she cried harder because she didn't even remember how it felt. She would spend the rest of her life imaging and trying to remember what his face looked and felt like, but she'd never know.

"Come out and eat Talia," Ra's said as he poked his head into the tent.

"I'll eat in here," she replied as she quickly left the tent to collect her food and then returned to Bane's side.

Ra's watched as she quickly left then went back in. He didn't approve of the obsession Talia had with this man and wondered if this man had an obsession with her. Ra's was still very unsure about bringing him into The League with them; having a connection with others was extremely dangerous to their cause. Ra's had even begun to think of excommunicating Talia but couldn't bring himself to do it out of loyalty to his wife. But would she want this? Would she want her daughter involved with a criminal? Ra's wasn't even sure this man would be able to handle the League either physically or mentally. When they first looked at each other, there was such hate in this man's eyes. In the League only hate of crime and injustice was hated. No emotional relationships were to be allowed. And yet he was going to allow this one as long as it did not become a romantic relationship. But every time he would look at or think of this man, he imagined his wife. 'This man could have saved her. Instead he allowed her to suffer a terrible death.' At that point he would always push those thoughts from his mind.

Their trip back home lasted over a week. Bane was placed in the infirmary and a doctor was hired to create a mask to cover up his injuries and to allow him to function normally with the use of drugs specifically designed to numb the body's pain receptors. Before placing the mask on Bane, the doctor performed surgery to close up and clean up the wounds.

As the doctor opened the door, Talia rushed in to see Bane. The doctor called Ra's in and walked him to Bane.

"This," the doctor pointed to the mask, "will prevent him from feeling any pain. His body's pain receptors have been numbed using this drug," he said as he picked a small canister. "The drugs will need to be changed every week or until he begins to feel pain again. Come here so I can teach you how to change the canisters," the doctor said as he motioned for Ra's to come closer.

"Let me do it," Talia said as she stood.

"Yes, let her do it. She's in charge of this man," Ra's said as he walked away.

"Alright then. You must of course take out the canister, found back here, and you have to twist it until it clicks, then pull it out. And then you quickly put the new canister in and twist it again until you hear a click and that's it. It's really very simple. Only do it very quickly because the pain receptors gain sense again after a few seconds."

"Thank you very much doctor, I am extremely grateful."

"You're very welcome miss," he said as he walked out of the room.

Now all Talia had to do was wait. The doctor said that the anesthetic would wear off in a few hours.


	8. Awake

Hi!

NinjaNicky! I am so very sorry it's been soooooo long! I went on a pretty long trip with my school. I promised you I would finish this story for you even if no one else was interested in it and I fully intend to keep that promise! And thanks again for your wonderful review! You always seem to feel what I feel!(: So, I'm back now and won't ever be gone that long again!

* * *

The wait was excruciating. Talia hadn't gotten a real chance to speak to him during their reunion, and now she was afraid he might not even wake up. She'd only been waiting about 8 hours and it was killing her. Her mind began imagining life without Bane again, only this time was so much more painful than it was all those years ago. She had him here now and she felt that if he died, it would be her fault.

As several minutes passed by with no sign of life from Bane other than the weak fall and rise of his chest, Talia quickly stood and began pacing. When she stopped, she looked at Bane and tentatively walked over to him. At that moment a great fear rushed through her body and she quickly but carefully climbed into the bed with Bane. She wrapped her arms around his thin body and laid her head on his chest to listen to his calming heartbeat. Eventually she fell asleep and welcomed the dreams of her days in the pit with Bane.

She was startled from her sleep when she heard groaning and felt Bane's body begin to move violently, trying to push her away.

"Bane! Bane, it's me! Please look at me. It's me Talia, Bane."

He was still confused and afraid even as he heard her speak. He relaxed a little but was still struggling to get her away from him.

"Bane please! Stop," she pleaded as she placed one hand on his cheek.

He screwed his eyes shut as he waited for the pain of the contact to run through him. But it never did.

"Don't you remember me? You did in the pit," Talia said as tears began to fall from her tired eyes.

"Tali-" he stopped in astonishment. It didn't hurt to speak. Actually nothing hurt at all. It was then that he noticed the mask on his face. He began to feel it with his hands and then looked at Talia who had stopped crying.

"Talia?" he said very slowly, dragging out each syllable, testing his mouth. Realization hit him and he grabbed her and hugged her. He didn't realize how little strength he had until he tried to lift her onto his lap. There had always been so much pain that he forgot how to feel.

"Bane, please relax. You're ok," she said as she took hold of his arms.

Again, he was expecting pain, but only felt her gentle touch.

"Why doesn't anything hurt? What is this?" He said as he raised his hands to the mask, feeling the metal.

"I had the doctor make this for you so that you wouldn't feel the pain anymore. There are little gas canisters in the back that distribute the gas throughout the mask," she said as she ran her fingers along the cold metal, "and that stops you from feeling any-"

Bane pulled her to him and Talia let out a small gasp.

"Talia, I didn't know if you were safe. I had no way of knowing what had happened to you," he said with desperation.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head into his bony chest.

"But I'm ok. I'm safe and I went back for you," she said sadly but calmly.

"I just can't believe it. How did you survive?"

"I climbed a mountain and went from town to town," she said quietly.

"Were you hurt at all? Did anyone hurt you?" he said staring into the distance with intense eyes.

"Everyone was… kind, Bane. They weren't like you said they would be," she said as Bane let out a sigh of relief. "Only… everyone was so boring," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well I'm here now little one," he said with a calm sadness.

Talia pushed herself to arm's length and looked at Bane.

"I'm not little anymore, Bane."

"Yes you are."  
"Bane. Please. I'm bigger than you are right now."  
"No you're not. I'm still slightly bigger and you're still my little one regardless of size. Anyways I'll be healthy and fit again soon. And I'm still taller than you."  
"Bane, you don't even know that. You haven't seen how tall I am. I've grown a lot since you last saw me. I'm a woman now," she said with a light smile.

"Oh, so you're a woman now?" Talia could tell he was smiling by the crinkles at the corner of his eyes.

"Yes."

Bane laughed and Talia laughed right after. He felt so happy and light, as if nothing else in the world mattered.  
"Well make me some food then, Talia," he said, laughing.

"Bane! That's not how it is! You always used to tell me that women would do all the house work and would cook!" she exclaimed as she got off the bed and stood before him.

"That's what my mother told me about her life outside of The Pit. She said that women were always kept in the household."  
"Kept? Well, that's not how it is here. I have never had to make a meal or clean. All of that is done for me. Well, except my room. I fix my bed, but that's it."  
Bane was very glad to hear that. Although his mother had told him about it with a smile, he did not like the thought of Talia slaving away for anyone, especially men.

"Perhaps it's because you don't know how."

"No, Bane. It's because I am a princess."

Bane laughed at this and remembered the stories he would tell her. He opened his arms welcoming her back into his arms. She quickly jumped back onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him and laid her face on his shoulder.

"I want to stand," Bane said happily.

"I'll help you. You've been asleep for so long and you're so frail."

"No. I'll be fine. I promise."

"Ok. If you do well, you can come with me to get you something to eat. Oh! And I want you to see something incredible. Oh, Bane! Please walk! I really want to show you!" She went from being doubtful to being completely hopeful when she thought of her surprise for him.

"Ok," he said with a smile visible through crinkled eyes.

He got off the bed quickly with ease. He felt fine. This mask really was incredible.

"I'm fine, see? Let's go get some food. I haven't eaten in so long."

Bane and Talia walked into the kitchen hand in hand.

"I need food for him. He can eat early. He's recovering from very severe injuries and Ra's wants him healthy as soon as possible to begin training," Talia said in a demanding and emotionless tone to the man in the kitchen.

He handed her a bowl of rice and chicken and a bottle of water.

"He'll need much more than this," she said as she looked at the man. "Give him two more bowls for now."

Talia passed Bane a bowl and a spoon to and held on to the other two.

"Let me show you around. Then I can show you some of the things I've learned," she said eagerly.

"Is that how you speak to everyone?"

"What do you mean?"

"You sound... cold and almost dead."

"I don't care about any of them."

"As long as you never speak to me in that way."

"Of course I won't," she smiled.

Bane followed Talia to a room with tall and thick wood posts and several wood platforms in ascending order and increasingly farther from each other.

"Sit on the block there," she said as she stretched.

"Oh! I forgot. The doctor said that to eat you have to lift your mask up. He said that the pain would take 10 or so seconds to return, so you can take a big spoonful and pull your mask down. He told me that he was going to construct another mask that would allow you to eat without removing it."

Bane smiled as he watched the movement of her hands and face as she spoke.

"This room is for practicing stealth and climbing," she said as she jumped atop one of the platforms.

She jumped the next three platforms with ease. The fifth platform was the one that she could almost never reach. She wanted to impress Bane though and so she decided to try it anyway.

She went as far back as she could and jumped as far as she could. She reached her hands out and was able to grab the ledge but her hand slipped and she fell to the ground.

Bane quickly stood, dropping his bowl, and ran to Talia.

"Are you hurt? Are you ok?" He said as he helped her up.

"Bane, I'm fine! This happens nearly every day. Most days I don't make it. It makes me wonder how I escaped The Pit," she said with a small smile.

Talia picked up the bowl and she and Bane began picking up all the rice and chicken.

After they had gathered it all back into the bowl, Bane was about to take a spoonful into his mouth, but Talia snatched the spoon and bowl from him.

"I was going to eat that Talia!" he laughed.

"It was on the floor! You can't eat food from the floor."  
"I'm hungry. I'll eat anything."  
"You won't run out of food here, Bane. We always have food. You won't be hungry ever again," she said as she handed him another bowl.

Bane felt odd with the thought of being secure and taken care of by someone else. He had always taken care of Talia, and had ultimately sacrificed himself for her. He trusted no man or woman other than her. His hatred of men stemmed from the cowardice of his father, leaving his pregnant mother to be sent to The Pit in his place, all the prisoners whom he had watched destroy his mother, and the prison doctor for having failed him twice. Nothing good had ever come from men. He'd always hated them, and that wasn't about to change now.

"Let me show you what else we have, and then I can show you the surprise!" she whispered with a giant smile.

Bane smiled and pulled Talia to him and hugged her.

"Show me."


End file.
